Re: Where do I start?

Posted by Glenn Black, PQA on September 30, 2002 at 08:51:31:

In Reply to: Where do I start? posted by Stumped Student in SPC on September 29, 2002 at 16:19:55:

Wow! You have a lot on your plate. While you may be in a position to help save the jobs of the other employees, you need to consider yourself as well. As long as you feel you can make a difference, I can understand your loyalty to your company & fellow workers.

There are generally 6 phases to a company's quality and the resulting customer satisfaction. It can be a long haul through those 6 phases. If you have customer satisfaction but go bankrupt in the process, you won't be around long enough to reap the benefits. It's a balancing act.

You need financial stability before you can work on the longer term issues. There is a limit to how far you can cut costs. There is no theoretical limit to how high you can drive sales income.

I would suggest using your SPC and other tools to maximize gross margins on your products and meeting customer's specifications & delivery dates. Using SPC, you should be able to achieve a 25% improvement in gross profit within 6 weeks with no (or only minor) capital spending.

Next, focus on getting sales. We have had great success in using Theory of Constraints Thinking Tools to define competitors, customers, & market trends. This can help you figure out what to do differently & what to keep the same. Focus the efforts of every employee on the common goal.

Third, go for very satisfied customers. Loyalty of "satisfied" customers is only 30%. Loyalty of "Very Satisfied" customers is very close to 100%. This is the long term goal.

Remember, you can't control nor manage what you cannot measure. Use your SPC to help everyone see where the tunnel is and the light at the end which grows brighter every day.

Remember, the 1980's were about quality. The 1990's were about globalization. The 2000's are about "Velocity". You can't go fast when you have quality problems, mis-communication, antequated systems of 20 yrs. ago, nor poorly motivated & unfocused employees.

If you need help, give us a call. It sounds like an interesting challenge.

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